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About This Game

MASTER THE ART OF WAR In the darkest age of Japan, endless war leaves a country divided. It is the middle of the 16th Century in Feudal Japan. The country, once ruled by a unified government, is now split into many warring clans. Ten legendary warlords strive for supremacy as conspiracies and conflicts wither the empire. Only one will rise above all to win the heart of a nation as the new shogun...The others will die by his sword.
Take on the role of one Daimyo, the clan leader, and use military engagements, economics and diplomacy to achieve the ultimate goal: re-unite Japan under his supreme command and become the new Shogun – the undisputed ruler of a pacified nation.

Game Features

Total War: SHOGUN 2 features enhanced full 3D battles via land and sea, which made a name for the series, as well as the tactical campaign map that many refer to as the heart and soul of Total War. Featuring a brand new AI system inspired by the scriptures that influenced Japanese warfare, the millennia old Chinese “Art of War”, the Creative Assembly brings the wisdom of Master Sun Tsu to Total War: SHOGUN 2. Analysing this ancient text enabled the Creative Assembly to implement easy to understand yet deep strategical gameplay.

CONQUER the islands of Japan in the 16th century. Lead vast armies of samurai and fleets of giant warships into breathtaking real-time battles.

BUILD your kingdom on the inviting and turn-based campaign map. Wield economic, political, and military power to amass wealth, armies, and influence.

SCHEME according to the "Art of War" by Sun Tzu. Use fire and siege tactics, spies and assassins to adapt to the ever-changing conditions on the battlefield and throughout your kingdom.

BATTLE ONLINE and experience the main campaign in two-player mode. Then join epic online battles with up to 8 players and lead your online army to glory in special campaigns.

I have been playing many different strategy games being most of them from the Total War series, and I must say that Shogun II is so far, the most complete strategy game available in the gaming industry.

Let's begin by talking about the positive aspects of the game, which are many...

Shogun II is a historically accurate game presenting a wide, never-ending content during Japan's biggest civil war known as the Sengoku Jidai Era. You will be able to play with many important factions that played major roles into shaping Japanese history along with their rulers which are until today famous and highly respected in all of Japanese society.

In Shogun II, having a good solid army wont be enough for you to achieve success, to hire agents such as the Ninja, to have a respectful diplomatic relationship among other clans, to have a good technological progress over other factions and to control trade routes with other Asian nations will be all equally important in order to achieve your goals.

The game might look slightly complex, but it's easy to learn compared to other previous Total War games

If you’re new to the series, the overload of information can be quite unnerving, and perplexing. But dig deeper, and you’ll start to appreciate the game, and its small details and intricacies. For a strategy game, this is near flawless, and definitely the best of the Total War series.

There's no need for mods, the game is well-balanced and extremely polished in all of its aspects

It's true! After long hours of playing this game, you will realize that there is nothing on this game that might require mods either to fix something, or to add any content that is lacking of.

From a strategy perspective, it is a perfect game

It has gunpowder units, artillery and even bomb throwers, but just enough to add a new element to the game without taking away its melee battle core. Despite the deadliness of these units, they must be placed in strategical locations in order to be truly effective and to counter the terrain penalties.

The campaign mechanics, such as the family tree and events you can encounter throughout, really make you connect with your leaders

Indeed, each player will feel very connected to the game in overall making the difficult task of leading and ruling an entire faction militarily, economically and diplomatic, a very pleasant task.

Polished and clean graphics

The graphics in the units, in the battlefield and even in the campaign map are beautiful and they will make you enchanted with their additional effects depending of the 4 seasons you are in.

The multiplayer mode

The multiplayer mode in Shogun II is unique as the rest of the game itself. Players will have a Daimyo, the faction head-ruler, which will also be the general in multiplayer battles that can be fully customizable from his face structure to each individual armor piece and weaponry of himself.

Before you play your first multiplayer battle, you must select your clan starting point by moving your general on to it, and as you progress and win battles, you will conquer lands which will unlock you more online troops, accessories for your Daimyo and also retainers to boost your army base bonuses.

Loading screen quotes

The presence of quotes said or wrote by renowned people is well known in Total War games, but in my personal opinion the quotes were so well selected, that will almost give you the feeling that you are improving yourself in the game after reading them.

Music

The music in this game is capable of adding even more atmosphere that wraps perfectly with every moment of the game either during battles, in the campaign map, or simply in the game menu.

Extra content

The DLC's and the two singleplayer / multiplayer expansions available to this game, is seriously a must buy for anyone who enjoys this game, because not only it unlocks more factions and their unique units both for singleplayer and multiplayer, but also because the expansions such as the "Fall of the Samurai" and "The Rise of Samurai" will make you emerge to another dimension of old Japan making you feel that you are playing a different game.

Now, to the negative aspects.

The loading time

Despite the clean, polished and detailed graphics, there comes the price of it. A long loading time both before battles and also during the initial loading screen of the game which can be sometimes, quite depressing.

The multiplayer mode

Shogun II blows us away with its unique refreshing multiplayer system, but there is simply too many de-syncs among players and the enormous lag during battles with more than 2 players.

Irrational AI

Battles with the AI will often become easy as you learn the same strategy they use in the three battle types (Naval,Land and Siege).

Hard dificulty

Instead of making the AI strategy effectiveness wider and complex, what happens is that the enemy units will have a greatly increased fighting stats making the game unbalanced, instead of harder as it should be.

Conclusion.

I would rate this game 93 out of 100 or 4,9 out of 5,0 stars. It's a masterpiece of game within the strategy genre, a must have for anyone who likes strategy or to be taking the seat of a strategian!

Guide on how to ShogunStep one: Do not spend any moneyStep two: Give all your money to your enemy (This will confuse them, and cause disarray in their ranks)Step three: Buy the lowest costing soldier with your remaining money (If you have done the previous step correctly you won't have enough for one unit)Step four: Realize your mistake with step twoStep five: Who needs armies anyway?Step six: Send the army you have been building up ever since your mistake with step 2Step seven: Your low costing army is unstoppableStep eight: Shogun

Do you like war? Do you like strategy games? Do you love fuedal Japan culture? Perhaps you love just fighting epic battles while being able to control every groups movement, fighting style, or the army as a whole? OR Finally maybe you use this like me to help you improve your strategy to help yourself outwit the other law firms in America?

If you realized any of these things were true then BUY THIS GAME RIGHT BOOKING NOW!!!! WHY ARE YOU STILL READING MY REVIEW? YOU SHOULD ALREADY BE PULLING YOUR CREDIT CARD OUT RIGHT NOW AND MAKING THE PURCHASE!

Disclaimer: I am not responsible death caused by over excitement, starvation, dehydration, or bladder malfunction caused from not ever leaving your computer to relieve/reenergize yourself, and finally the countless days, weeks, months, and years you will spend replaying this game.

Side note: If i could give this a YES with like 500 people applauding along with a choir and a golden light shining upon the button when pressed then this game would get it.